Collapsible shoe supporting device or rack



April 1941- H. E. HOFFMAN 2,238,334

COLLAPSIBLE SHOE SUPPORTING DEVICE OR RACK Filed May 11, 1939 BY WWW ATTORN EY Patented Apr. 22, 1941 C'O-LLAPSIBLE SHOE SUPPORTING DEVICE OR RACK Herbert E. Hoffman, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application May 11, 1939, Serial No. 273,032

4 Claims.

My invention relates to a device or rack for supporting shoes or other articles.

The principal object of this invention is to proVide a supporting device on which a large number or variety of shoes may be simultaneously stored in such positions that each shoe is easily and quickly accessible and can be conveniently placed in position and removed from the rack without disturbing the others.

Another object is to provide a structure of this class which can be easily collapsed into a relatively narrow compact body so as to be convenient for storing or shipping purposes and which can be easily and quickly unfolded into and retained in position of use without using any tools.

A further object is to provide a structure of this class which will be extremely simple and comparatively cheap to manufacture.

With these and other objects in view, my invention substantially consists of a rack composed of a pair of side members and a plurality of pairs of horizontal cross members arranged in a vertically superposed position alternately over opposite faces of said side members to which they are pivotally so connected as to permit the rack to be easily and quickly collapsed and unfolded for use.

My invention also consists in the construction of a rack that can be interchangeably used as a standing rack. or one to be conveniently suspended from a door of a closet or wall.

My invention also consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will more fully be described and defined in the appended claims.

In the drawing, which constitutes part of this specification and in which similar reference characters denote corresponding parts Figure l is a perspective View of one embodiment of my invention;

Figure 2 is a cross section on line 22 of Figure 1, seen in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 are perspective views of disassembled parts of the rack;

Figure 4 is an elevation of the structure shown in Figure 1 in collapsed position;

Figure 5 is a sectional detail;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a modification of the structure shown in Figure 1; and

Figure '7 is a perspective view of another modification of said structure shown suspended from a door.

Referring to the drawing more in detail and first to the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 5 inclusive, my device consists of a pair of side members ill formed with feet or rests I I and a plurality of horizontally extending vertically superposed pairs of cross members I2, the cross members of each pair being arranged in staggered formation relative to one another. The

standards, as well as the cross members, may be made of wood, metal or any other suitable suffizciently strong but preferably light material. And while the standards III in the drawing are shown in form of relatively broad plates or boards, I may make them of comparatively narrow strips or rods. In their staggered position the cross members I2 of a pair are adapted to support shoes S in a downwardly slanting position so that they may be conveniently discerned as to style, color, etc. and readily positioned or removed from position without disturbing the neighboring shoes.

To this end I prefer to make the cross members of comparatively tlnn rods of circular or polygonal cross section, so as to pass freely into the arched space of the sole of a shoe in front of the heel and catch the same, when a shoe is deposited on said rack. The cross members of each pair are spaced a distance not more than the length of a normal shoe, but preferably considerably less in order to be able to support thereon an assortment of mens, womens and childrens shoes of different sizes.

The cross members I2 are adapted to be so joined to said standards III as to permit the rack to be collapsed or folded up into a relatively narrow compact body without separating or detaching any part thereof, as shown in Figure 4, to facilitate packing and shipment and also storing of said device when not in use, and to eliminate the necessity of using any tools.

In the present embodiment I accomplish this object by providing on opposite faces of the standards Ill, split metal loops I3, which turnably engage said standards and which serve to engage the ends of the cross members I2. Advantageously the ends of the cross rods may be circumf'erentially grooved as at I 2', so that when forced through the split loops I3 the latter, owing to their natural resiliency, will snap into said grooves and thereby permanently lock said cross members therein. The loops I3 threadedly engage, as at I3, the front and rear faces or edges of the boards or standards I0 and will therefore be permitted to turn when the cross members are turned by the collapsing of the rack into position, shown in Figure 4. It is, however, understood that instead of threading the loops into the standards some other suitable means may be provided to rotatively fasten the loops therein.

The bases or feet I I may be also foldably fixed to the standards It so that when the rack is in collapsed position there will be no part that will excessively project beyond the outer faces of the standards as to form obstructions when storing or render neat packing for shipping purposes difficult. According to the present embodiment I employ the following means for foldably joining the feet II to the standards:

Each standard near its bottom is formed with a square or oblong hole i and each base or foot H is formed with a cross like hole H adapted to coincide with said hole 58, the vertical and horizontal portions of said cross groove being each in size equal to that of hole l0. M denotes a threaded bolt whose head It is formed with a square oblong block shaped extension I4 which in length, width and height is so admeasured as to engage the hole Iii as well as the vertical portions of the cross hole I! when the foot H extends at a right angle relative to the standards, as in the position of use, or to engage the hole ill as well as the horizontal portions of said hole H, when the foot is turned upon itself to extend longitudinally of the standards. The outer ends of said bolts are adapted to project from the outer faces of the feet H and are threaded as at M to receive wing nuts l5 whereby the feet may be tightened to the standards in any of the two adjusted positions. It will be seen, that with the blocks M of the bolts engaging the opening HE' and either one of the branches of the cross openings H the feet will be rigidly joined to the standards.

In order to steady the rack in its unfolded position I provide the following means:

Hinged or otherwise pivotally fixed to the inner face of one of the members l2, as shown in Figure 2, at 56 or to one of the feet or rests H, is a rod or bar it which at its opposite end is provided with elongated downwardly projecting prongs or hooks lfi Projecting horizontally from the inner face of the opposite standard, are vertically superposed eyelets l1 serving to engage the prongs or hooks I6 The length of the rod or bar is so admeasured as to hold the standards rigidly apart in the fully unfolded position.

When the rack is to be folded or collapsed, the bar is disengaged from the eyelets and turned upwardly on its hinge IE, to extend longitudinally and abut against one of the standards, as shown in Figure 4. The nuts l5 are then threaded outwardly and the bolts are pushed inwardly until the blocks hi disengage the vertical portions of the holes ll. Thereupon the feet are turned around 90 and the bolts are shoved back to engage the cross portions of the hole H whereupon the nuts are screwed tight into position.

In the modification shown in Figure 6, the rack is shown steadied in unfolded position by two or more collapsible means. These means may consist of knock-down arms 18. One part of each knock-down arm is pivoted to the standard i0 and the other to a cross member l2. the present example there are two knock-down arms used, one for the upper part and the other for the lower part'of the rack. In position of use, the arms 18 are unfolded.

In the modification shown in Figure '7, the rack is adapted to be suspended from a door or wall.

Here the rack is shown as composed of a pair of comparatively narrow rods or bars are to which are pivotally attached pairs of cross members I 2 in a similar manner to that of the other modification hereinabove described. As this rack is adapted to be suspended from a door of a closet or a wall, the feet are omitted. While any suitable means may be used for suspending this rack from the door or wall, I have shown in this embodiment hooks l9 fixed at a suitable elevation to the door D or wall and eyelets l9 or the like fixed to the side bars Hi to engage the hooks.

Pivotally attached to the outer side faces of said side bars near the top and bottom thereof are lugs or arms 25 which when the rack is suspended from the door or wall are turned to extend horlzontally and to frictionally engage, with their free ends, the door or wall, so as to thereby hold the rack in a steady position sufficiently spaced from the door or wall.

The racks shown in Figures 1 to 6 may be made to be interchangeably used as standing or suspension racks. In such case, the side bars I0 need only have attached to them eyelets 19' for engagement of the hooks I9. The spacing arms 20, on the other hand, may be eliminated, by correspondingly admeasuring the length of the feet II so that when in horizontal position the rear portions thereof will be equal to the length of the hooks l9, so that the free edges thereof will abut against the door or wall thereby holding the rack spaced from and parallel to the door or wall.

Various other modifications are possible, of course, in the construction of a collapsible rack for the purpose heretofore mentioned without departing from the principle of my invention. 1, therefore, wish it to be expressly understood that I do not limit myself to any of the details described and shown.

What I claim is:

l. A collapsible supporting device or rack com prising a pair of side members, a plurality of pairs of horizontal, vertically superposed crossmembers pivotally connected to said members, means for suspending said rack from a door or wall, and members pivotally attached to said side members and serving as abutments to space and hold said device parallel to the door or wall when suspended from the latter.

2. In a collapsible device for supporting arti cles, a pair of side members, a plurality of cross members extending between and pivotally connected to said side members so that said device may be folded up into a relatively narrow compact body, means for suspending said device from a door or wall, means for holding the device in unfolded position and means for spacing said device from the door or wall comprising a plurality of arms pivotally attached to said members and adapted when turned perpendicularly to said side members to space said device from and hold it parallel to the door or wall when suspended therefrom.

3. In a collapsible device for supporting articles, a pair of side members, a plurality of cross members extending between and connected to said side members so that said device may be folded up into a relatively narrow compact body, means for holding the device in unfolded position and means for spacing said device from the door or wall comprising members adjustably connected to the lower ends of said side members to serve also as feet or rests for the device.

4. In a collapsible supporting device a pair of side members, a pluralityof pairs of parallel ver tically superposed horizontal cross members, one cross member of each pair being pivotally attached to the front faces of said side members and the other of each cross member being pivotally attached to the rear faces of said side members, means for suspending said device from a wall or door and collapsible means for holding said device spaced from and parallel to the door or wall when suspended therefrom.

HERBERT E. HOFFMAN. 

